Mom Gets Bullied Because of a Single Facebook Photo, But Later Shuts Down Haters

Molly Lensing was shamed online when a photo of her at the airport went viral. But then she explained the real story behind the image.

Ian Anglin October 10th 2017 Inspiration

Here is an interesting story that is making the rounds online. It is about a mom that left her baby on the ground of an airport terminal. I'll get into more details about why and how this happened, but suffice to say, a guy that was nearby snapped a photo and then shared it online. A lot of people then commented and shared the photo to other social media websites, and the woman with the baby even started to worry that she may lose her job because of the cyberbullying that followed.

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Meet Molly Lensing

Molly Lensing is a mother of three - and he was in an unfortunate situation, that I'm sure it has happened before to many of us - she got stranded because of delays at an airport terminal. Though what follows is no normal delay at the airport.

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How it Happened

Molly and her youngest child, her 2-months old daughter got stranded at the airport in Colorado. While sitting at the gate and waiting for hours for their plane to arrive, a guy nearby took a secret photo of her and her daughter, and he shared the photo online.

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The Photo Became Viral

The man that shared the photo on his Facebook timeline, wrote "Albert Einstein said, 'I fear the day that technology will take on our humanity... the world will be populated by a generation of idiots.'" These are strong words indeed.

Here is the Photo That Made the Rounds

This is the original photo that got shared of Molly. All the other photos you are going to see in this article were taken by strangers who found out Molly's Facebook profile and then proceeded to cyberstalk her and bully her.

Not Everything is As it Seems

I know what you are thinking - that photo looks like Molly is a terrible mother! But Molly was brave enough to face her accusers, and she came to explain how everything happened. In her words, what happened that day is not at all what it looks like.

Delays Are an Exhausting Experience

In a way, we can sympathize with Molly's situation, as being stuck in an airport terminal can be an exhausting and frustrating experience. People become desperate in these situations, so it is possible that they can resort to some "bad" decisions.

She is a Pediatric Nurse

Few people know that Molly Lensing is actually a pediatric nurse - so she would know how to properly take care of her baby. She and her husband are great at their jobs, and they live in Illinois. I'm starting to get a more positive feel for the story now.

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She had to use the Cellphone

While being stranded at the Colorado airport, Molly had to use the cell phone, as it was a minor emergency. She did not do this so that she can play Candy Crush on her phone, nor so she could talk to friends about some TV show.

The Photo Was Taken Without Permission

Molly didn't know she was being photographed, so everything that happened in the next few days following this scandal was a complete surprise to her. She thought she was having a normal day at work when everything went upside down for her.

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The Photo Got over 65,000 shares

Given how large the Internet is, it took much more than a few thousand shares in order for the word to get back to Molly. The photo had to be shared over 65,000 times across several different social media websites in order for her to learn of the photo's existence.

She Got Identified

Being identified by your real name online is also called getting "doxed" in some of the "trolling" communities. This is exactly what happened to Molly - she got "doxed," and thousands of people shamed her for ignoring her baby while using her cellphone.

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She Spoke Out

She did the best thing that was possible given her situation. She confronted the media and the bullies head-on. If she went into hiding, things would have ended much worse for her. This is a great lesson for everyone - always confront your problems.

Her First Interview

Molly told reports from Today Parents that "We had the unfortunate luck of being stuck in the middle of the Delta computer shutdown." Her flight was delayed and rebooked multiple times in the same day, and she started to worry about her daughter's health.

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Her Arms Were Tired

When the photo was taken, she had already been holding her daughters for HOURS. Her arms were tired, the chair was cold and uncomfortable and her baby needed to stretch, to change the position she was in. All babies need this.

She Had to Contact Her Family

She was using the phone so that she could contact her family and ask if they can help out, or what she should do given the difficult situation she found herself in. Everything she did, she did for the benefit and health of her daughter.